Elegant without lacquer

Grilamid TR Piano Black for scratch-resistant, one-shot trim – a pleasing appearance and environmentally compatible

05.12.2022

The interior finishing of cars makes a significant contribution to the desired premium driving experience. A range of completely different approaches to development of interior design concepts can be found here. Regardless of whether an elegant, high-quality appearance or a dynamic, young design is aimed for, Grilamid TR makes it possible to realise future-oriented interior design concepts. With the high-performance polymer, Grilamid TR, the perfect high-quality surface finish without lacquer is maintained throughout the vehicle's whole lifespan.

Cost savings and sustainability required

The visual impression of a vehicle interior is characterised decisively by the surface quality of trim, covers, gear shift knob and air vents. With special colour matching, transparent polymer materials can be given a highly-polished black piano gloss appearance. The durability of these elegant polymer surfaces is usually not sufficient in permanent use and must be ensured by lacquering.

Scratch-resistant polymers often do not have sufficient resistance to cleaning agents. Even the slightest cloudiness or dullness ruins the high-class piano gloss appearance.

Grilamid TR XE 4139 Black 9231 achieves the required durability of the high-gloss surface finish in a one-shot process, i.e. without need for lacquer. This saves the cost for lacquering and is environmentally compatible. Grilamid TR XE 4139 Black 9231 is exceptionally resistant to scratches and is not affected by aggressive cleaning agents. Substances which appear harmless at first glance, e.g. sun cream or perspiration from hands, can cause stress cracking of many amorphous polymers. Grilamid TR XE 4139 Black 9231 has been tested in contact with a wide variety of these kind of products and is used successfully for many automotive interior applications.

Air vents for the Mercedes C Series models, for example, are made of this EMS material and provide the interior with a touch of luxury. In the cockpit of the Mercedes GLE, one of the centre console covers is also made of this jet-black material. Good test results with aggressive sun-protection products in the US market were decisive for using this material for the gear shift knob in the Fiat 500.

The second generation is in the starting blocks

Large-area covers on the dashboard are subject to especially high demands on the ductility of the material used, to ensure that no head injuries are caused by sharp splitters in the case of a crash.

To satisfy these demands, Grilamid TR FE 11859 Black 9675 was developed in a high-gloss piano black finish. It is significantly more ductile. At 1.5 mm wall thickness, it achieves a nearly 50% longer flow length compared to Grilamid TR XE 4139 Black 9231.

Naturally, no compromises were made during the development of Grilamid TR FE 11859 Black 9675. In addition to the ductility, EMS-GRIVORY was able to further improve the already very good scratch resistance and resistance to chemicals: In the Crockmeter test, which measures the scratch resistance as relative loss of gloss in percentage, very good test results were achieved.

Market introduction of Grilamid TR FE 11859 Black 9675 has already started and the product has received great interest from the automotive supply industry.

The high-gloss piano finish is, of course, not only limited to black - materials in all colors are possible. With Grilamid TR XE 4139 and Grilamid TR FE 11859, EMS-GRIVORY makes it possible to achieve future-oriented car interior concepts in one-shot processes, sustainably and at low cost.